Squadron Personnel: Summary Information

Overview

There follows below lists of the officers and men who served in 550 Squadron. The information used to
build this page was taken in the first instance from the lists provided on the original Squadron Association web-site,
but have been augmented by new and additional information gathered since that time.

This information is not yet complete: it has been build from the Roll of Honour, Decorations and Senior Officer lists, and then by working through other available records. So please don't shout just yet if you spot an omission - work continues to build a more complete, and accurate, list.
Do however shout if you spot an error! Please email any corrections or information to the contact details in the link at the bottom of the page.

Serviceman Details: The column headers should be fairly self-explanatory. The final column (Web links) contains,
where given, links to other items on this web-site or indeed to external sources where further information or photographs, etc can be found.

Aircraft: When a link to a particular aircraft is given, this only indicates aircraft it is known the
crewman was associated with (such as when flight logs are available or the aircraft has failed to return from an operation).
It does not exclude the fact that the crewman may well have flown on other aircraft too, that is either just not documented in the
currently available records or simply not known to the author. The aircraft links will take you to the operations listed for that aircraft.

Note that the vast bulk of the information available about squadron servicemen presented below concerns air-crew; almost no information is available about the men, and women, of the technical and other ground crews who played their part in making the squadron an effective fighting unit. This is a shame, given the key role they played in keeping the aircraft in the air and the men flying them able to do their job. So if you have ground-crew information do please send it in so that it too can be included in the squadron record.

Posted to 550 Sqdn from No. 71 Base w.e.f. 05.01.45First live op as 2nd pilot to F/Lt Pyke (PB514, 16th Jan 1945). Then had to repeat the exercise (PB514, 22nd Jan) because the first flight has been aborted due to engine fire.Joined 550 Sqdn as F/O. At the time of the loss of PD320 was F/Lt

Posted to 550 Sqdn from No. 1 LFS Hemswell on 16.6.44First live op as 2nd pilot to P/O Kenyon, DV279, 30 Aprl 1944.Posted to No. 300 Sqdn on 12.6.44 for the formation of an English Flight on a Polish Squadron.

Posted to 550 Sqdn from No. 1 L.F.S. on 5.6.44First live op as 2nd pilot to P/O Bibby, LM460, 14 June 1944Posted to W.C.A.D on being reported missing 19.7.44It is thought that F/O Clark, unable to leave the controls to bale out himself (the rest of the crew baled out), attempted a forced-landing but crashed in the process.Buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery.On 23 July 1944 W/C A.F.M Sisley, the CO of 550 Squadron, noted he had flown 14 sorties (65 hours 50 minutes) and wrote: "The officer concerned was in my opinion a reliable and capable officer and an extremely efficient operational pilot, as his last operational sortie proved."

Of Harrow, MiddxJack Crawford received his commission to the rank of Acting P/O on probation on 10/06/1939, later graded as P/O on probation on 18/09/1939 and confirmed as P/O on 17th July 1940. He rose to F/O (war subs) on 18/11/1940 and F/Lt (war subs) on 18/02/1942Married to Pauline May Crawford

First live ops flight as 2nd pilot with F/O Hussey crew (10 Sept 1944, PA991))DFC gazetted (to Acting F/Lt Harris 177913), issue 37088 18 May 1945Posted from 550 Sqdn to 1687 B.D.T. Flt w.e.f. 16.2.45After the war had ended F/O Harris was killed in a flying accident in a Spitfire on the 11th January 1946. He is buried in Anfield (Liverpool) Cemetary (service no. on CWGC 177913)

Posted to 550 Sqdn from No. 71 Base w.e.f. 9-1-45First live op as 2nd pilot to F/Lt Summons, NG287 22/01/45Then had to carry out a second op as 2nd pilot (as the first had been an "abortive"), this time with F/O Grundy, LM273 01/02/1945Posted to No. 582 Sqdn w.e.f. 3-3-45

Posted to 550 Sqdn (as Sgt Lloyd) from No. 1. L.F.S. w.e.f. 27/2/44 First live op as 2nd pilot to F/L Picton, LL826 (1 March 44)Immediate award of DFM recorded in May 1944 ORB for bringing severely damaged ND733 home from Mailly raid of 3/4 May 1944 having ordered the A/B and both AGs to bale out.Posted from 550 Sqdn to No. 1662 Con. Unit 7.8.44 (with Service No. quoted as 1278823)

Posted to 550 Sqdn from No. 11 Base on 7.6.4First live op as 2nd Pilot to F/O Neilson, LM134, 16/17 June 1944 - killed on this operation (thereby leaving a headless crew who were transferred out two days later)

Posted to 550 Sqdn from No.75 Base w.e.f. 6.5.45Posted from 550 Sqdn to RAF Station Gamston w.e.f. 26.6.1945(listed as F/Sgt on transfer in, P/O by time of transfer out of 550 Sqdn, and F/O by time of discharge in Jan 1946)